1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fish habitats. More specifically, the present invention concerns an artificial fish habitat including an open framework formed from periphery sections having a minimum cross section sized and configured to be greater than a gap spacing of a fish hook.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Recreational fishing is a popular past-time enjoyed by many individuals who fish for fresh or saltwater fish in a variety of environments. Individuals who fish have long understood that fish prefer certain habitats. Prior art fish habitats have been developed to provide fish with a habitat in and around which a substantial number of fish will congregate. Individuals who fish benefit from utilizing habitats as the chance of catching a fish increases with the number of fish in proximity to the individual. A preferred prior art fish habitat of many individuals is a pine or cedar tree, such as those once utilized as Christmas trees. For example, individuals often deposit these leftover pine or cedar trees in convenient fishing locations, such as near docks, to provide a habitat for crappie and other desirable fish. The crappie and other desirable fish eventually congregate within the many branches of the trees and the individual may fish for the crappie and other desirable fish from the convenient fishing location.
Unfortunately, prior art fish habitats, including pine and cedar trees, routinely snag fish hooks and thereby severely limit the beneficial aspects of the fish habitat and convenient fish location. Specifically, pine or cedar trees include a plurality of small branches, including many branches having a cross-sectional areas smaller than one-quarter inch, which are easily snagged by conventional fish hooks. For example, most conventional fish hooks, including a #3 fish hook commonly utilized to fish for crappie, have a gap spacing which is substantially larger than one-quarter inch and which may easily snag on the many branches of a pine or cedar tree. Thus, individuals who fish within these prior art fish habitats often spend more time replacing snagged hooks and broken lines than catching fish.
Additionally, prior art fish habitats, specifically pine and cedar trees, are not water-resistant and decompose over time when submerged in water. For instance, pine and cedar trees will lose branches, bark, and other parts over time due to being continuously submerged in water, which pollutes the areas surrounding the habitat and often renders the surrounding areas unusable for other purposes, such as boating or swimming. Additionally, the decomposed pine and cedar trees do not provide an optimum habitat for fish and must be undesirably be regularly replaced. Thus, an individual who utilizes a pine or cedar tree for a fish habitat must expend the effort and time required to transport a potentially large and cumbersome pine or cedar tree to a convenient fish location and also risks losing the convenient fish location for other purposes due to the pollution created by the pine or cedar tree.
Other prior art fish habitats have also been developed which use artificial materials in place of pine or cedar trees. However, these other prior art fish habitats also routinely snag fish hooks and generally fail to provide an adequate habitat for most fish. For example, these habitats lack sufficient cover for fish, such as that provided by the many branches of pine and cedar trees in which fish often prefer to reside. Additionally, fish habitats often substantially rest on the bottom of a body of water where many fish species do not reside due to environmental concerns such as temperature requirements or predatory instincts. Thus, many of these other prior art fish habitats are useless as they are ignored by desired fish species.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved fish habitat which does not suffer from the problems and limitations of the prior art.